Black Diamond Mines

Welcome to this 16-part tour of Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve. In the late 1800s, these hills bustled with industry. There were some 900 miners—some as young as eight years old—and miles and miles of underground tunnels. It was the largest coal mining operation in California history. And nature largely has restored itself here to spectacular beauty and ecological health. Black Diamond Mines has so many different stories—cultural, resource. But what it really is is a story about ecological restoration.
Presented by SAVE MOUNT DIABLO
In association with AUDIBLE MOUNT DIABLO and MOUNT DIABLO INTERPRETIVE ASSOCIATION
Featuring Seth Adams, Heath Bartosh, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, Scott Hein, Ken Lavin, Ray Sullivan
Producer, Narrator: Joan Hamilton
Music: Phil Heywood, Steve Arnold
Videography: Macha Rose
Thanks to East Bay Regional Park District, Elizabeth Vinton Sanderson Foundation, and Contra Costa Historical Society
Top photographer: Scott Hein
Other photos by Heath Bartosh, Kevin Dixon, Kati Fleming/Wikimedia, Bruce and Joan Hamilton, Dan Pacamo/Wikimedia